


unpredictable

by greekmichael (spookynat)



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: M/M, Pokemon AU, aggressively with no stat moves, four moves of four are attack moves, luke battles like me, michael calls luke princess, the au nobody asked for yet i delivered anyway
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-08-07 10:17:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7711201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookynat/pseuds/greekmichael
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Look, I know you've got an Emboar, but I've got a Samurott, and that's at least ten times better than some fire pig."<br/>"Luke, I think we all know that Emboar reigns supreme."<br/>"I guess you'll have to battle me, and we'll see, huh, Michael?" </p>
<p>or in which Luke is a pokemon trainer, having gotten his first pokemon, and Michael is his rival</p>
<p>(based on the Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald games)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. littleroot town

**Author's Note:**

> i brought this over from wattpad and idk what inspired me to write it but here it is lmao

 

_He didn't remember being able to dream. It's not what he was prone to doing, and he never remembers any of his dreams, if he even has any._

_Yet, here he was, looking up at a ceiling that definitely wasn't his own. The area was incredibly cramped, with a wall on one side, a curtain on the other and the ceiling no more than a foot above his head._

_The bed was moving. Why was the bed moving? He rolled toward the curtain, and right as he touched the curtain, the bed jolted and he fell directly through the curtain. There was at least a metre between the bed and the floor, so his lanky body hit the floor with a loud thunk. The floor was carpeted though, so his impact didn't hurt too much._

_"Luke?"_

_"Luke?"_

"Luke?" His mother shook him awake. His blue eyes blinked open blearily, looking around at his familiar bedroom. His mother's worried eyes looked down upon him, creating creases in her face and making her look ten years older.

"Mum, what's wrong?" Luke asked softly, slowly sitting up and watching his mum all the while. She shook her head.

"Nothing, Lukey, don't worry about it. It's your eighteenth birthday today! Are you excited?" Liz shuffled toward the plate of breakfast she had already laid out.

"Hell yeah! My own Pokémon!" He exclaimed, jumping out of bed and throwing on the clothes he set out the night before: his 'You Complete MeSS' singlet shirt, his favourite black jean jacket, a pair of black skinny jeans (with no rips - his mum was proud), and a pair of black converse.

Wow. He wears a lot of black.

"Luke, it's your eighteenth birthday! Don't you want to celebrate with your dad and I?"

"Dad's working at the gym today, Mum, and the Professor won't wait long for me! The faster I am, the faster I can catch up to Michael!" Luke explained his theory while shoving a few more things into his apparently incredibly deep pouches, which slung around his thighs like the packs in _Naruto_. Of course, he made sure to leave lots of room for other things he would need, including PokéBalls, a few potions, some TMs and HMs and such else.

"Okay, well, just be careful then, I suppose." Liz sighed, and Luke slid out the door. "See you soon!"

"Bye Mum!" Luke called back, locking the front door. He then started striding over to his neighbour's house, where his rival Michael lived.

The thing about Michael is that he was a year older and thus was more experienced than Luke with Pokémon. His dyed hair screamed rebellion and matched the fiery nature of his starter Pokémon, Tepig, now a strong Pignite. He wore dark leather whenever he could and gave out a 'don't fuck with me' aura. Luke knew firsthand, however, that Michael could be a huge sweetheart, because he was nothing but kind whenever he was home. Michael didn't outwardly show his 'Pokémon side' (as Luke liked to call it) until he was out of town, where Michael was known as the youngest trainer ever to have five gym badges. The _Five Badge Flame_ , strangers called him, and Michael went with it.

Luke was going to beat the older teen, though. He was most definitely going to ask the Professor about the Piplup he glanced running around the lab the last time he visited, because he knew that fire was weak to water, and with enough training, he could _definitely_ defeat Michael.

Luke knocked politely on the dark wooden door belonging to his neighbours. Politely, though, because his mum raised a gentleman for sure. He stepped back, because he expected Karen to open the door and he didn't want her to feel encased.

No. Michael opened the door instead.

He was only half dressed, with some _really_ tight black jeans on and a Green Day sleeveless shirt in his hand.

"Holy shit I love Green Day," was the first thing out of Luke's mouth. He then fidgeted awkwardly, know he'd screwed something up. What? He didn't know.

Michael surprised him by grinning back and saying, "I love American Idiot. Reminds me of how American-like I am."

"Me too!" Michael laughed.

"So what do you need, Luke?" Luke missed the days when Michael would call him Lukey. He wanted _that_ back. "I get my Pokémon today."

"Really?" Michael didn't look impressed. "I don't know how great the choices are going to be though."

"Knowing my luck, it'll be a Pidgey, a Geodude or a Wurmple. Ugh," Luke sighed.

"The Professor usually has a water, grass, and a fire type. My selection was this Pignite, back when he was a Tepig, a Snivy, and an Oshawott. Obviously Tepig was the best choice," Michael finished, looking over at the PokéBall near the door which housed the infamous Pignite.

"What nickname did you give it?" Luke asked softly, staring at the ball. He knew he had to hurry up and get to the Professor, but not once had Michael told him the nickname of his Pignite.

Michael cleared his throat and responded, "You'd better go." He began to shut the door. "My dad will be wondering where you are. Or not," Michael smirked, "he hates tardiness."

"Then it must be a nightmare for him to be _your_ father. Bye Michael!" Luke jogged away before Michael could reply. He missed the affectionate shaking of head Michael gave in return before shutting his front door.

The lab wasn't at all far from Michael's and Luke's houses. Actually, it was right across the street, and, like always, it was bustling with lab assistants and scientists carrying PokéBalls and papers. Luke dodged around all of them and strode inside. He went straight to the back of the lab, right where he knew the Professor would be. He was late, but only slightly, judging by the group size that was already there, and how the Professor was about to start calling names.

"So basically," the Professor was finishing up his speech, "You're all going to take the Pokémon I give you today and see the world! Do whatever you want, and become whomever you wish. Now, we'll start the selections by first names. Is there an Ashton Irwin here?" A tall boy with curly hair stepped up and chose.

This continued on, and Luke only heard one other name that really stood out to him: Calum Hood. He was a bit shorter than Luke (who wasn't - Luke was a string bean), with tan skin and dark brown hair. He chose what Luke figured he would choose: Treecko. Luke personally thought Treecko was, simply put, one of the lamest Pokémon out there. Calum Hood seemed like a great guy otherwise; his Nirvana tank top spoke loads about that.

"Luke Hemmings?" His name was called, and most of the other kids had left. The only ones remaining were Ashton and Calum, who were talking about their choices: Mudkip and Treecko respectively. Luke didn't really like either, and his favourite of that generation was actually Torchic, the Pokémon which evolved into the most over-powered starter (besides Tepig, of course, but Luke wasn't going to be the first to admit that Michael had made the right choice in Pokémon).

"Luke?" The Professor gestured to his table. There was nothing on it.

"Sir? Where are the Pokémon?" Was Luke going to be denied a Pokémon? It was a fairly common thing, but his town was tiny, and there were maybe five students other than him to receive their Pokémon today, on this one Receiving Day that happened _once a year_ and happened to fall on Luke's birthday.

"Hey Luke, nice to see you. I'm sorry to say that there are no Pokémon left. You'll have to wait another year."

"What? No! How is that fair? How could you just _happen_ to run out at the last person: me? You should've had enough, had everyone accounted for!" Luke protested.

"Hey, Luke, right?" Ashton was talking to him now. "Don't feel bad. I've been too sick for the past two Receiving Days that I just turned 20 and got a Pokémon."

"And I was in the US for the last one. I'm 19," Calum piped up from behind Ashton.

"Well, I do have one Pokémon left," the Professor started uneasily, "It's an Oshawott, from the same generation as Michael's Tepig, but -"

"I'll take Oshawott," Luke finished, cutting off the Professor. He was excited that _he could actually get a Pokémon,_ and one from Michael's generation. Even better.

"Here's Oshawott's PokéBall, I suppose. And while you three are still here, there's something I want each of you to test. I'm giving one to Michael too, so -"

"Don't worry, Dad, I'm here. Right on time, too." Michael winked at Luke, who looked away and gripped Oshawott's PokéBall tighter.

"Great, now that Michael's here, and actually on time for once, I can talk to you about my invention. Ashton, Calum, I originally didn't intend for you two to be here, but luckily I have four prepared, so you'll each get one as well."

"Dad, you're rambling," Michael said to his father, who stopped talking and thought for a few seconds.

"Right! My invention! I have spent lots of time developing this, so I'd really appreciate the utmost care." The Professor handed each of the boys a red rectangular device before continuing, "I've called this device the Pokédex; that is, the Pokémon Index. I invented it so that Pokémon trainers, like yourselves, can travel and record the stats of every Pokémon you've met, so that I may expand my database. I would like the four of you to travel the region - perhaps even the world - and collect data on each and every Pokémon. You can do this just by encountering the Pokémon, but the Pokédex can collect more information if you actually capture the Pokémon. Michael, please distribute the PokéBalls."

Michael turned to the other three boys and grinned, opening his bag and, somehow, extracting five PokéBalls for each boy. When he got to Luke, he slyly whispered, "Your balls, sir."

Luke choked.

"You can buy these at every Pokémart or Pokécentre containing a Pokémart section. Now, Ashton, Calum, Luke, Michael, please go and collect as many Pokémon as you can!"

Ashton and Calum grinned at each other and started walking outside while Luke and Michael walked along slowly behind them. Luke refused to look at Michael out of embarrassment over Michael's comment.

As soon as they were outside, Ashton turned to look at the other 3 boys. "I vote we all travel together, as companions. Safety in numbers, right? Plus, we don't have to be completely alone."

"I like Ashton's idea," Calum voted.

Michael sighed. "Well, as the only experienced trainer here is me, I suppose it's my duty to help you guys out. Yeah, let's travel together."

Ashton grinned and turned on his heel, beginning to walk toward the town's gate.

"Hold up a sec, Ash," Michael called, dragging Luke with him, "I need to grab a few things from my house first."

Ashton sighed but backtracked anyway. Michael's house was pretty close to the town gate, so the three boys waited near the road, halfway in between Michael's house and the gate, while Michael grabbed his things. Soon, he was back out, carrying a slightly smaller bag and his PokéBalls around his waist. Pignite walked beside him with a scowl on his face. 

"Alright, let's go," Michael grinned at Luke and began striding towards the gate. Calum followed, then Ashton, then Luke, who looked back at his house just as Liz ran out.

"Lukey!" She called. He winced, as he thought he outgrew that nickname, before smiling at his mum. He knew that this might be the last time he sees her for a while. Luke heard the other boys snickering behind him, but he did his best to ignore it.

"Lukey, you forgot your cell at home. And I know you're going on a Pokémon journey, but I didn't know if you wanted your guitar or not. You're awfully attached, so I wasn't sure."

"I -"

"If he doesn't want to take it, I will," Michael smiled at Liz. She grinned back.

"Hello, Michael! It's been a while! How's your Pokémon doing?" She glanced down at Pignite, who sniffed at her leg and hugged it briefly before stepping back to Michael's side.

"He's great, Mrs Hemmings. How's your husband? How's Ben? Jack?"

"They're all fine, dear. Oh, and who are you two?"

"My name is Calum, ma'am, and this is Ashton. We're travelling with your son."

"It makes me happy to know that I'm leaving my son in the capable hands of Michael and two very competent and polite boys." Liz smiled at Calum before looking back at her son. "Well, Lukey, I'll give Michael your guitar if you're not going to take it."

"No Mum, I'll take it. I hear Michael already has one," Luke eyed Michael, who grinned guiltily.

"The Pokécentre in the next town always holds it for me when I come back home so that I don't accidentally forget it while I'm here."

"Then I'll be taking mine. Thanks Mum," Luke kissed her on the cheek and slung the guitar over his back, around the PokéBalls. He was pretty glad that he had decided to bring two thigh packs versus a backpack, otherwise he'd be having some trouble.

"Well, I'll be seeing you soon, Lukey. I hope you have an amazing journey with these three lovely boys." Liz smiled softly, tears beginning to gleam in her eyes. Luke groaned and hugged her one more time, kissing her cheek before stepping back, to Michael's side. Michael grinned down at him and slung his arm over Luke's shoulder as soon as he saw a few drops of water in Luke's eyes.

"There's no need to worry, ma'am. Luke's taking the journey of a lifetime, and every time he comes back, he's going to have a new, amazing story to tell."

Liz nodded and turned, going back to her home. Luke watched her go, and as soon as the door closed, he wiped his eye and turned back to the boys.

"Just for the record, I was not crying, okay?" They nodded. Ashton and Calum turned and began walking to the gate, while Michael began to follow. As soon as he noticed Luke not following, though, Michael turned and grabbed Luke's hand, threading his fingers through and pulling him along softly.

Luke took a deep breath, and his foot landed outside of the town gate.

It's time to have an adventure.


	2. petalburg city

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which luke and the boys meet up with norman in petalburg city, and muke help wally catch a pokémon

  "I'm hungry," Luke complained. He and the other boys had been walking for hours, and they were just shy of the nearest town. He didn't realise there would be so much walking, and they hadn't spotted a wild Pokémon yet.

  "Route 101 isn't that big, Luke, and we'll be at Oldale Town in about half an hour," Michael told him, looking around at the woods surrounding them. They had actually run into a couple of trainers already, and Ashton and Calum had taken care of them, allowing their Pokémon to level up a few levels. However, Luke hasn't gotten the chance to battle anyone yet, so his Oshawott was still a little Level 5, while Ashton had a Level 8 Mudkip, Calum had a Level 7 Treecko and Michael... well, Michael had a Level 33 Pignite.

  "Okay, but everyone's already battled someone, and I haven't! What's up with that, man?"

  "I'm sure we'll run across someone else who wants to battle, Lukey, don't worry."

  Luke sighed and lifted his foot higher to wade through the tall grass. The other boys told him to go first, saying that if there was a wild Pokémon encounter, he should be the one to battle, perhaps even catch, it.

  He turned back to the boys to listen to Calum's story about his older sister when his foot landed on something slightly squishy that was most _definitely_ not the ground below the grass.

  A high pitched squeal came from the ground and Luke looked down and gasped.

  "It's a wild Zigzagoon, Lukey, and he wants to battle you! You probably startled him, poor 'mon." Calum pointed at the Zigzagoon, who was crouched down in a fighting stance.

  Luke gasped and grabbed Oshawott's PokéBall, throwing it in front of himself and excitedly calling out, "Oshawott!"

  A light emitted from around the white button on the front of the PokéBall. A blue beam shot towards the ground, and the top of the PokéBall opened, then suddenly, there was Oshawott, standing on the ground and looking confusedly at Luke. He smiled at the smaller-than-usual Oshawott and looked at the Zigzagoon behind it.

  "Oshawott," Luke began, just like the other two boys before him, "use Tackle!"

  Luke's little Oshawott turned around and looked at the Zigzagoon before jumping up and landing, somehow, on the wild Pokémon. The Zigzagoon seemed slightly weakened, but not incredibly, because it countered by using Tail Whip. Oshawott's posture slackened in response, as Tail Whip lowered the opponent's defence.

  This was the first time that Luke had seen Tail Whip in action, and even though the move was really basic, it was still so _cool._  
  
"I know I've already said this, but Oshawott, use Tackle again," Luke commanded. Oshawott looked back at him, nodded a little Oshawott nod and Tackled the wild Zigzagoon once more, causing the Zigzagoon to faint. Luke looked back at Calum and Ashton, who looked in awe at the Zigzagoon on the ground, while Michael just looked slightly disappointed.

  "What do I do now, Michael?" Luke asked. The elder boy looked startled but still looked to the Pokémon on the ground and walked over to it, touching its forehead softly before stepping back. The Zigzagoon began glowing a pale white before it just... wasn't there anymore.

  "Where did the Pokémon go?" Luke asked the older boy, who had walked back over to him.

  "There's an International Pokécentre in another region that takes in wild Pokémon who have been tagged, heal them, and then return them back to exactly where they were when they fainted," Michael explained. Luke shrugged, because that would explain why the Zigzagoon disappeared.

  "Okay, Oshawott, it's time to go back into your PokéBall," Luke cooed, holding out the PokéBall. He pressed the white button, aimed directly at Oshawott, but Oshawott decided to dodge the beam of blue light and instead clung to Luke's leg.

  "Uh, Luke?" Ashton called after Luke had been trying to recapture Oshawott for a couple minutes. "Maybe you should just let Oshawott walk around, like Michael lets his Pignite." Luke looked to Calum, who nodded in agreement.

  "Just make sure he doesn't get too out of control, hey?" Calum assured. Luke nodded, looked at Oshawott and put the PokéBall away. Oshawott let go of his leg and traipsed alongside him.

  However, as the boys finished wading through the tall grass and approached the Oldale Town gate, Luke looked down and noticed that Oshawott was lagging behind a little.

  "C'mere, Oshawott," Luke smiled at the tiny Oshawott (who was probably half the size he should've been) and held out his hand to it. Oshawott's face morphed into something resembling a grin and he climbed into Luke's hand. Luke hoisted his Pokémon up to his shoulder and let Oshawott hop off and cling to his neck, successfully allowing the Pokémon to ride on his shoulder. 

  "What're you doing, Lukey?" Calum asked the youngest boy.

  "Oshawott was really trying to keep up, but he couldn't, and since we're going into town anyway, I figured I'd let him ride up on my shoulder so he doesn't get lost. I'm not so cruel to demand that he gets back into his PokéBall when he obviously doesn't want to. Besides, he's absolutely tiny; I can't really feel him on my shoulder, anyway." Luke chose not to comment on the nickname, figuring that no matter how much he protested it, these boys would continue to call him that anyway. 

  "That's really sweet of you, Luke. It's good to know you love your Pokémon that much already." Michael smiled.

  "It's just being a decent human for a fellow species that I'm going to, hopefully, be friends with for a long time," Luke replied, striding toward the Oldale Town gate with Oshawott clinging tightly to his shoulder. 

  "Luke, you can do whatever you want, especially with your kind morals," Ashton replied, seeing Luke more as an actual Pokémon trainer now versus a younger kid with a Pokémon. 

  "Just being a human being with a sense of respect. Now, let's get into Oldale Town, because I think all of our Pokémon need to be healed."

  Michael grinned proudly at Luke and followed him closely, stepping into town directly after Luke and directly before Ashton and Calum. 

  "Wow, this town is so large compared to Littleroot Town. Look," Calum pointed to the northeast, "there's an actual Pokécentre!"

  "And a Pokémart!" Ash pointed to the mart off to their left.

  "I need to stop by the Pokécentre to pick up my travel materials, but we can meet at the western gate in an hour," Michael told the other boys, already walking to the red-topped building. Luke traipsed along behind him, surprising him. 

  "I need to heal Oshawott, and the Pokécentre is the place to do it," Luke reminded. Michael nodded and looked at the other two boys who had just disappeared into the Pokémart. 

  "I guess the other two really need to stock up on Potions or something," Michael remarked, almost at the doors of the Pokécentre. Luke shrugged in response, a move that jostled Oshawott alarmingly, but he settled back down after Luke and Michael stepped into the Pokécentre. 

  "Hi Michael!" The nurse on duty called from the front counter. A trainer was standing in front of the counter, waiting for his two Pokémon to be healed in the laser healing machine.

  "Hey. Do you guys still have my stuff?" Michael asked, approaching the counter pretty close to the other trainer. The nurse smiled.

  "Of course! Allow me to go get it from the back." The nurse looked at the other trainer at the counter. "Just a moment Steven, I'll be back in a second to retrieve your Pokémon." 

  The other trainer nodded and the nurse disappeared into a door behind the counter. The trainer turned to look at Michael and he grinned.

  "Hey, Mikey, odd seeing you here."

  "Hey Steven," Michael drawled, looking at the other trainer's silver hair. He grasped Luke's hand and pulled the taller boy closer, saying, "Have you met Luke? He's going to be the next Champion."

  Steven looked at Luke and raised an eyebrow. "Really? How old is this kid?"

  "I'm eighteen," Luke replied before Michael could. Steven looked surprised, and looked Luke up and down. 

  "You look so much younger than eighteen though!"

  "Just got my first Pokémon today," Luke informed him. 

  "Oh?" Steven looked at the Oshawott on Luke's shoulder, who was grinning at him. "It seems that he likes you a lot too."

  "I hope so." Luke smiled at the little Oshawott.

  "I've got to go, but I'll talk to you later, Michael. Luke, it was lovely meeting you and I hope to so so again soon." Steven tipped his head at the boys, collected his PokéBalls from the nurse on duty and strode out of the Pokécentre. Luke and Michael watched him go before Michael gently grasped Oshawott and set him on the counter. The nurse smiled at Luke and took Oshawott over to the active Pokémon healing booth and set him inside. An ultraviolet laser ran over Oshawott and he was suddenly healed. Luke smiled at the nurse as she gave him back Oshawott, who bounded back up to his trainer's shoulder energetically. 

  "And Michael, here's your travel equipment, as well as your guitar," the nurse said, handing Michael a small pouch, just like Luke's to wrap around his leg.

  "Thanks Nurse Joy," Michael replied, attaching the pack to his leg before grabbing his acoustic, a beautiful sunburst Fender, and slinging it across his back just like Luke.

  "We'll be going now. Thanks Nurse Joy!" Michael grabbed Luke's arm and gently tugged him out of the centre.

  Michael sighed as soon as they were out, and Luke looked at him confusedly. 

  "I don't like Steven much. Or that nurse, now that I think about it." Luke shrugged.

  "I don't mind them, honestly. Steven seemed kind."

  Michael muttered something Luke didn't catch, but he didn't really care to find out. They were travelling partners, so Luke wanted to avoid conflict with him at all costs. 

  "Michael! Luke! You guys ready?" Ashton called, jogging up to the pair. Michael shook his head.

  "Lukey here still needs to go to the Pokémart, so we'll meet you at the gate in a few. C'mon, Lukey." Michael grabbed Luke's hand and tugged him toward the Pokémart. "I'm going to show you all the basics to buy for this journey. No matter where you are, there's always a chance that you'll need these items."

  Luke nodded and followed quickly, not wanting to waste too much time. "What are we getting?"

  They stepped into the Pokémart and Michael gestured to the large electronic board above the cashiers. "In some Pokémarts there will be two boards, with one for each cashier. In all of my travelling, I have never come across a Pokémart with more than two workers, so if you enter one with three or more, then it's pretty likely you're in a fake Pokémart and you need to get the hell out of there. Now," Michael looked at the large board. "There isn't everything you would need in your travels on this board, so we'll just get what's available. You always want to keep anything you get on you, because there's a pretty good chance you can sell it in a Pokémart if you ever run out of cash."

  "So what are we getting?" Luke asked, looking into his wallet. He had the standard $3000, so he could probably buy anything at the Pokémart that Michael wanted him to get.

  "Well, you'll need to start out with at least five potions, five PokéBalls and five antidotes. Later on, you'll also need to buy antidotes and revives, as well as stronger potions and better PokéBalls. For now, though, these things should work." 

  "Michael, that's $3000! That's all of my money!" Luke protested as the cashier put the items on the counter. Michael looked back at him and grinned.

  "Don't worry Lukey. You'll have no reason to spend any money from here to Petalburg, at least," Michael assured. Luke sighed and handed over all of his money, pocketing his new purchases right after. His leg packs felt slightly heavier now, but it's not like he had to run anywhere. Besides, his stuff would be safe there. 

  Oshawott jumped on Luke's shoulder, almost slipping if Michael hadn't caught him. Michael smiled at the smaller-than-usual Pokémon and hoisted him back up to the blonde's shoulder. 

  If Oshawott could smile, he probably just did at Michael. 

  "Alright, let's get going to the gate. If we leave now, we can probably get there before lunch," Michael stated, turning and striding out of the Pokémart, leaving Luke to follow. 

  As soon as he was out of the Pokémart, Michael took a sharp left and strode quickly to the left town gate, where Calum and Ashton were waiting. Their Pokémon were out and scampering around, playing, giving Michael and Luke the impression that the two boys had been waiting for a while.

  "You guys been waiting for long?" Luke asked as they approached. Ashton looked up from his conversation with Calum, shook his head and continued, both boys not stopping their discussion. They recalled their Pokémon and seemed to end their chat, both boys turning to Michael and Luke with grins on their faces.

  "Ready?" Calum asked.

  Luke smiled. "Ready." 

 

  "How long has it been?" Luke asked. He was starting to get hungry, and this forest seemed to never end. They had already encountered a ton of wild Pokémon (nobody caught anything), and Luke wanted to either find a trainer to battle or get to Petalburg City. 

  "Luke, we're almost near the end of the forest. We'll be in Petalburg in, like, ten minutes," Michael assured. Calum and Ashton were a bit ahead, leaving Luke and Michael to walk with each other.

  "Sorry Mikey. I guess I just didn't realise how much walking in forests, woods and tall grass I would be doing. I really just want to battle something or someone."

  "I would offer, kid, but I'm too high of a level for you to battle," Michael, who was wading through the tall grass just ahead of Luke, smirked. Luke huffed and used his long legs to catch up to the older boy, who had recalled his Pignite so that the Pokémon wouldn't be lost.

  Luke's leg brushed against something and he looked down. There was a wild Taillow growling at him!

  "You can do it, Lukey!" Michael cheered, rounding back to support Luke and watch the battle.

  "Go Oshawott!" Luke called. Oshawott jumped off of his shoulder and landed on the ground about four feet in front of Luke. The wild Taillow got into a defensive position.

  "The Taillow is tiny Luke, so Oshawott is definitely a higher level. That means you are very likely to be able to go first, since Oshawott should have a higher speed," Michael instructed kindly. Luke nodded. 

  "Oshawott, use Bubble!" A stream of bubbles flew from Oshawott's mouth and smacked into the small Taillow. The wild Pokémon went flying, but still stood back up. It then used the move growl, making Oshawott visibly shiver and weaken slightly.

  "Oshawott's Attack was lowered slightly, but he should be able to defeat the Taillow in this hit. See Taillow's left wing?" Luke looked. "The two white dots signify its level: two. Look at Oshawott's back. There's a single light blue dot, meaning he's a level ten. There's a large enough gap in the levels."

  "And if I want to catch it?" Luke asked.

  "Just toss the PokéBall. Taillow's wing shows you how close to fainting it is - there's a yellow tint. That means you've lowered its hit points to less than half, and this is when you want to throw a PokéBall, other than when it's tinted red."

  Luke fumbled in his right pouch and pulled out a PokéBall. He pressed the white button and, when the ball inflated, threw it. A blue light shone from the seal and Taillow was engulfed, shining brightly for a moment before all that was left was the PokéBall. Luke and Michael watched as the button flowed light purple and the ball shook. Then, the light faded, the PokéBall stilled and Luke had caught the Taillow. 

  "Check your PokéDex, Lukey. The Taillow should be there," Michael prompted. Luke pulled out his PokéDex from his left pouch and opened it. The blonde pressed the button for the Pokémon list, then for Generation Three. He used the button wheel to scroll down to Taillow and selected it.

  "Taillow," the PokéDex read. "The Tiny Swallow Pokémon. Taillow is young - it has only just left its nest. As a result, it sometimes becomes lonesome and cries at night. This Pokémon feeds on Wurmple that live in forests."

  "And now, he's yours! Congrats!" Michael smiled at Luke, who grinned and looked at the PokéBall on the ground ten feet away. He strode over and picked up the PokéBall, allowing the Ball to shrink back down. Then he returned the Ball to the back of his belt and looked at Michael, who was grinning at him.

  "Now let's get moving!"

  They caught up with Calum and Ashton a few moments later, right outside of the Petalburg Gates. Luke could see his dad's Gym inside, past the Pokécentre, and he couldn't wait to see him.

  "How'd it go?" Ashton asked as Michael and Luke approached. 

  "Luke caught a Taillow! How'd you go?"

  "Calum battled every trainer he could. Now his Treecko is a level ten!" Ashton grinned in pride at his most familiar companion, who grinned back.

  "Nice, Cal!" Luke smiled at the foreign boy (nobody was 100% certain where he was from, but his family - with the exception of his father - had appearances that did _not_  originate from Littleroot Town).

  "Thanks, Lukey." Calum smiled at the younger boy.

  Luke opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off.

  "Luke!" A loud voice called. The four boys looked beyond the gates, into the town, and noticed Norman, Luke's father and the Petalburg Gym Leader, striding toward them.

  "Hey, Dad!" Luke grinned at his father. Normal looked to Michael and smiled again, stopping just before the group of teens.

  "Nice to see you again, Michael. How's your Pignite doing?" 

  Michael grinned down at his Pignite, who had broken out of his PokéBall (like always) and was now standing beside his feet. "He's going well, Norman. Three levels until he evolves."

  "How soon do you think?"

  "Couple of days, depending on how much battle time Lukey gives me." Michael winked at Luke. "Have you met Calum and Ashton?"

  Norman looked at Calum and Ashton, who stood behind Michael (from Norman's line of vision). Calum waved while Ashton grinned and moved forward to shake the Gym Leader's hand.

  "Nice to meet you, sir. I look forward to our battle one day," he greeted. Norman smiled at Ashton's greeting.

  "Me too, Ashton. You seem like you'll be a worthy competitor. Hopefully not too soon, though, because you don't want to wear out your Pokémon."

  Ashton smiled. "Yes, sir."

  "And Calum," Norman greeted. Calum moved out from where he was half-hidden behind Ashton, "it's nice to meet you, too. How's your Treecko doing?"

  "Great, sir. But may I ask how you know my starter?"

  "Secret." Norman held a finger up to his lips and winked.

  "The Professor would've sent our files to all of the Pokémon Gym Leaders, and they're electronic so they sync with our PokéDexes whenever we open them," Luke revealed. Norman groaned.

  "Foiled by my son again! Why won't you let me have my fun?"

  "Your fun is lame! Now are you going to let us into town? We need to get to Rustboro."

  "Calm down, princess, we have time. Why don't you go have lunch with your father, and we'll meet you in two hours in front of the Western Gate?" Michael suggested, setting his hand on Luke's back. Luke may or may not have blushed at Michael's actions, but nobody had to know. The youngest then strode over to his father, while said father grinned at the small Oshawott on his son's shoulder.

  "Hey there, Oshawott," Norman greeted, listing the Pokémon from Luke's shoulder and cradling him, almost like a baby. Oshawott giggled and snuggled into Norman's arms. Luke's father smiled down at the Pokémon.

  "Come on, Luke. Let's get to my room at the Gyn." Luke nodded and waved at the boys, who waited until the blonde was out of sight before moving.

 

  "It was nice catching up with you, Luke. I'm so proud you've-"

  "Leader Norman!" A small green-haired boy rushed into the room. "You said we could get - oh, sorry."

  "It's okay, Wally. This is my son, Luke. He just started his Pokémon journey, so we were just talking. What do you need?"

  "You promised I could get my Pokémon today, sir, before I leave for Verdanturf this afternoon," Wally explained.

  Norman looked thoughtful for a moment before snapping his fingers and looking to his son. "Luke, would you help Wally catch his first Pokémon?"

  "No worries, Dad. Are you sure you don't want someone more experienced, like Michael?" 

  "If you go get him, then why not?" 

  "I'm already here," Michael calls, entering the chamber. Norman and Luke both grin, with Luke thinking to himself, _How does Michael always appear when someone suggests needing him?_

  "Wally, this is Michael. He's going to show you how to catch a Pokémon. He has five badges, including one from me. He's very trustworthy," Norman introduced. Wally smiled timidly at Michael (because even though he was basically a kitten, he's still somehow intimidating). Michael smiled back at Wally.

  "Okay," Wally replied simply. "D-do I need a P-Pokémon?"

  "Ah, yes." Norman walked over to a small table in the corner of the room with a stash of PokéBalls. He grasped one and strode back over to Wally, handing it to him. 

  "This is a Zigzagoon I caught recently. Use it to catch a Pokémon."

  "T-thank you sir! I'll be back soon!" He looked at Michael and Luke. "P-please come with me."

  "No worries," Michael replied, closely following Wally.

  "I'll see you in a few, Dad."

 

  "Is here about right?"

  "You tell me, Wally. Are there any Pokémon nearby?" 

  "There's a Ralts over there, but -"

  "Than go catch it! What do you have to lose?"

  "Go Wally!"

  "Shut up, Luke."

  "Woah!"

  Wally sent out Norman's Zigzagoon against the wild, attacking Ralts. "Zigzagoon, use Tackle!" 

  Norman's Zigzagoon jumped and landed violently on the wild Ralts. The Ralts' left arm grew yellow.

  The Ralts used Tackle against Zigzagoon. 

  "I use the PokéBall now, right?" Wally called back to the boys, glancing back at them to see Michael nod. 

  Wally shuffled around in his backpack and pulled out a PokéBall. He then pressed the button and threw it at the Ralts. A grey light escaped the ball and surrounded the weakened Ralts before there was noting left but a PokéBall with a grey button. 

  "I did it! I caught a Pokémon! My very own Pokémon..." Wally cheered, retrieving the PokéBall and simply holding it in his hand. 

  "Let's go back to Dad so you can return that Zigzagoon," Luke said softly, smiling. 

  "Y-yeah." Wally looked up, startled, at Luke. "Do I need to take the Zigzagoon to the Pokécentre?"

  "Nah." Luke threw his arm over Wally's shoulder. "Let my old man do more work. It's more entertaining that way." Wally smiled, no, _beamed_ , at Luke. 

 

  "Thank you both for coming with me to catch my new friend Ralts. Leader Norman, here's your Zigzagoon. I'd really love to stay, but my uncle just messaged me, and he's outside. Thank you all, again."

  "It was no problem, Wally. I'm glad you were able to catch a Ralts. Take good care of her, okay?" Norman replied. Wally nodded rapidly, smiled at the two teenage boys and left.

  Norman sighed. "It's get to be two, so you boys should head out to Rustboro City if you want to make it before nightfall. I'll talk to you later, Luke, yeah?"

  Luke nodded and hugged his dad. "I'll see you later, Dad."

  "Travel safe, boys!" Norman called as the two boys left. 

  "...Would it be weak if I asked to hold your hand?" Luke asked softly, looking out at the small lake near the gym. Michael smiled at the younger boy's question and, silently, grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers. Luke smiled to himself.

  "Let's go to the Gate, yeah? Cal and Ash are probably there," Michael said, pulling Luke toward the west gate. Pignite, behind the two boys, lifted up and carried Oshawott on his back, due to Oshawott showing signs of exhaustion. Oshawott grinned down at Pignite, who grinned back.

  "Lukey! Mikey!" A voice called. Cal and Ash were standing by the town Gate, just like earlier that day. 

  "Were you waiting long?" Luke asked Ashton, who shook his head in response.

  "We only just got here because we stopped by the Pokécentre," Cal replied. 

  "Oh damn! We forgot to go to the Pokécentre!" Luke looked at Michael worriedly, knowing that they had a schedule to keep. 

  "Don't worry - I sent Pignite to go and take Oshawott to the Pokécentre while Wally was battling, and I also gave him my bag with my Pokémon, as well as your PokéBall with Taillow." Michael sheepishly pulled out a PokéBall with a lavender button and handed it to Luke, who grinned. 

  "So smart," Luke complimented Michael, shrinking the PokéBall and attaching it to the back of his belt next to five empty ones. 

  "Where's Oshawott's PokéBall, princess?" 

  "I keep it in a tiny, separate pouch in Ashton's bag."

  "Why don't you carry it yourself?"

  "He has more room than I do, and he offered."

  "Don't forget you gave it to him, okay?"

  "I'm not four, Mikey. I'll remember."

  "I trust you princess."

  "Are we going to get going?" Ashton asked, grinning at the two boys. They looked up at Ash, still holding hands with matching surprised expressions.

  "Y-yeah." Luke cleared his throat and tugged Michael forward out of the gate and onto the plains before the beach. 

  Calum smiled at Luke as he and Ashton passed by, striding into the tall grass. Michael and Luke followed shortly, trying to get through the tall grass and quickly as they could. 

  No Pokémon attacked the boys as they strode through, and as soon as they were on the large ridge over the beach, Luke released Michael's hand (mourningly, but he wouldn't admit that) and ran down wooden stairs to their left, onto the beach. He tossed off his shows and socks and ran to the water, dipping his feet in. 

  He laughed gleefully.

  The water was so cold, so _fresh_ , and the salt water running over his feet left absolutely amazing in comparison to the heat of his sneakers after walking all day. 

  Luke turned around and looked at the three on the ridge, beaming. They all just stared at him, bewildered, as he let the salt water lap over his feet. 

  "The water's cold, guys! Look, even Oshawott is enjoying it!" All four boys looked down to the water Pokémon as he played in the waves, spitting out water in a silly mock of the move Water Gun.

  The boys on the ridge looked at each other uncertainly. 

  "Five minutes wouldn't hurt," Ashton said. He grabbed Calum's hand and pulled him down to Luke, leaving Michael on the ridge, frowning. 

  "I'm keeping watch so that none of you accidentally drown," Michael called. The three boys in the water watched as he released the Pokémon he had on him then sit, pulling food and water for them out from one of his pouches. 

  "He really cares about Pokémon, doesn't he?" Ashton asked Calum and Luke rhetorically. They both nodded absentmindedly, still watching Michael as he laughed at his Pokémon Aron chase around Pignite. 

  Luke wished they could stay this carefree forever.

  Things aren't made to last. 

 

  "I think it's time for you to get out, princess!" Michael called to Luke, who had been sitting with his feet in the water for the past twenty minutes, just watching the ocean make waves. Luke jumped at looked back at Michael, who had already packed up and had Ashton and Calum at his side. The youngest nodded, called for Oshawott and stood, dusting off his black jeans. He strapped his guitar back on, as well as his packs, then he hoisted his Pokémon back onto his shoulders and returned to his partners. 

  "Ready to go?" Ashton asked him. Luke grinned. 

  "Let's get to Rustboro City, yeah?"

  Two hours later found them in Petalburg Woods. The boys had all battled against a different trainer and Pokémon (Calum had caught a Wurmple and Michael had caught a Poochyena), and they were finally approaching the end of the woods. The sky was growing dimmer, so they had to hurry. 

  "What time is it, Cally?" Luke asked. Calum glanced down at his watch. 

  "Just past five. We should be getting to Rustboro within thirty minutes."

  Luke smiled at his tan friend.

  "No! Get away!" A voice shouted from behind a few trees. All four boys' heads whipped to the sound, and Michael, the experienced trainer, stepped forward and pulled back a few branches. 

  Standing there was a small man in a green coat, clutching a PokéBall in one hand and a briefcase in the other. In front of him was a man who could only be described as a thug, due to his scruffy appearance. He wore blue, black and grey with the letter A written on any blue surface. He had a puny Poochyena by his side, and a smug sneer on his face. 

  "Hand over the Devon Goods, bitch, or I won't hesitate to tell Poochyena to attack," the thug threatened the man in the green coat. The man looked around for an escape route, and he squeaked when the thug stepped forward. 

  Michael chuckled. "That's a tiny Poochyena," he stage-whispered to Luke, who was standing next to him. Luke looked at the Poochyena in awe.

  "Hey, you with the big mouth! You got something to say about my Poochyena?" The thug yelled directly at Michael, who smirked and stepped forward. Luke made to go after him, but Calum grabbed his arm and dragged him back. 

  "Michael's got this. Remember? He's got 5 Gym Badges. He's more than capable," Calum whispered. "Don't go after him unless he needs help." Luke nodded and Calum released him.

  "Why don't you pick on someone who has a Pokémon to match yours' skill level? Oh wait, that's no one! Even new trainers have stronger Pokémon than you." 

  "Oh, yeah? Are you going to prove it?"

  Michael turned to his party. His gaze quickly wandered over Ashton and Calum before settling on Luke's Oshawott. _Small_ , he thought, _but incredibly strong for his size. He'll do._

  "Luke!" Michael's smirk grew, and Pignite began walking back, past Luke to Calum and Ashton. "Come here and battle this numbskull." He beckoned the youngest over. The blonde's eyes widened, but he still jogged over to Michael's side and faced the thug, who looked surprised to see him. Perhaps he was amazed by the tiny Oshawott on Luke's shoulder. 

  "Who are you?"

  "He's the trainer of the Pokémon that's about to kick your ass!"

  The thug scoffed. "Sure. Poochyena!" 

  The thug's Poochyena jumped forward and entered its battle position, snarling at Luke and obviously waiting for Oshawott to get into position. 

  "You can do this, Oshawott," Luke whispered to his Oshawott, who nodded his little head and jumped into battle position. 

  "Oshawott, Water Gun!" 

  "Poochyena, use Tackle!" 

  Both Pokémon leaped forward at the same time, with Oshawott's water gun hitting Poochyena amd knocking it away so it couldn't use tackle. 

  "Do it again, Oshawott!" Poochyena stood back up, ready to attack again.

  "Poochyena, use Tackle again, before the hit strikes!" The grunt's order was too slow, as Oshawott used Water Gun again and knocked out the foe's Poochyena. 

  The thug growled and reclaimed his Pokémon.

  "'Come and battle me again!' is what I would say if I could. Here, take $300." He tossed the money at Luke, who caught it, grinning. "Team Aqua won't relent!" Then, he left, leaving the four boys and scientist to stare after him. 

  All was silent for a moment before the scientist spoke up: "Thank you four so much for helping me! There would've been no way for me to fight that guy off on my own. Oh! Take this as a token of gratitude on behalf of myself and my company." The small man fumbled for something in his bag, rushing forward and handing it to Luke.

  The scientist had given him a Great Ball. _His own Great Ball_. 

  "Swing by the Devon Corporation Headquarters building in Rustboro sometime!" The small scientist looked down at his watch and jolted. "Shit, I'm late! I'll be off!" He bowed to them (Luke and Michael subconsciously wondered if they were in Japan) and rushed away.

  "What just happened?" Calum was the first boy to break the silence. 

  "That was Team Aqua," Michael answered. "And if he was trying to get something from a Devon scientist..." He thought for a moment.

  "Then we have to get to the Devon Headquarters in Rustboro," Ashton murmured.

  "Then let's go! There's no time to waste, right?" Luke asked, scooping up Oshawott and striding to the other side of the clearing where there was a 'Rustboro This Way!' sign nailed to a tree.

  "Now hang on, Lukey. The Devon worker wanted you to visit, sure, but he was eyeing your Oshawott and belt a lot. I have a feeling he wants you to get a gym badge before going to the headquarters! Maybe his boss doesn't like newbie trainers just waltzing into the building." 

  Luke thought about what Calum said before sighing. "I guess that makes sense. But what if Team Aqua tries to rob them or something before we get there?"

  "We'll be fine, princess. Don't worry about that. Worry about battling Roxanne."

  Ashton and Calum, next to forgotten, traipsed over to where the redhead and blonde were standing. Ashton tugged on Luke's hand while Calum tugged on Michael's, directing them back to the path. "Let's get going, yeah?" Calum prompted. "We want to get to Rustboro before sundown, right? No one wants to sleep in the forest at night."

  "As someone who has slept in the forest before, I can confirm that it is not fun sleeping in the forest," Michael agreed, following along behind Calum.

  "Then I guess we'll hurry to Rustboro," Luke said, trotting along behind Ashton. ("Just like I originally said," he may or may not have muttered after. If he did, then no one has to know.) 


	3. rustboro city

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5sos explore rustboro and run into some of michael's old friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so for some fucking reason I started this months ago and then wrote about 90% of it today because I have no self control so enjoy

  "Wow, look at how big this city is," Calum looked around in wonder. Luke and Ashton nodded silently in agreement, while Michael was scrolling through his phone. 

  "If you think this is big, wait until we get to Slateport City, or Sootopolis City. Even Mossdeep is bigger than this," Michael muttered, pressing an on-screen button on his phone. 

  "Hey, Alex? It's me, Michael. I'm in town and me and my three buddies need somewhere to stay." Michael nodded. "Yeah, they're all newbies. No battles, I promise." Luke watched in fascination as Michael talked to the stranger over the phone. "Yeah, no worries. What time should we swing by? Seven? Alright, see you then." He hung up, looking at the youngest boy. "We have accommodation for the night. Now, go explore the city and meet in front of the Pokécentre at 6.45."

  Calum and Ashton immediately walked off, leaving Michael and Luke outside of the gate looking at the small but bustling city.

  "I need to go talk to Roxanne about something, so I'll see you in a little while, okay princess? Maybe go brush up on your knowledge at the Trainer's School," Michael said to Luke, already striding inside of the gates.

  "Hey Mikey? Can I just come with you?"

  "Why? Why not explore the city on your own?"

  "I don't really like being on my own... Do you not want me with you?"

  "Of course not, princess. I was just curious as to why you don't want to be on your own." Michael smiled. "Let's go see Roxanne." 

 

  "Michael Gordon Clifford! How're ya doin', bud? Yer Pignite?" Roxanne greeted as soon as Michael and Luke stepped into the Gym. Michael grinned and led Luke through a secret passage to Roxanne's podium (because the other pre-Gym Leaders would definitely try to challenge Luke if they saw him). 

  "We're doing well, Roxanne? How are your _Pokémon_?" Michael said Pokémon deliberately so he wouldn't spoil the challenge for Luke (although the blonde had already taken more than a few peeks at all of the Gym Leader's files via his dad).

  "They're doin' mighty fine, Michael." She seemed to finally take notice of the lanky blonde. "Who migh' this be?"

  "My name is Luke. I'm a new trainer."

  "Oh, a new challenga'! Sure, I'll take ya on." Roxanne grinned.

  "No, no, I haven't tested myself against the other trainers in this Gym -"

  "He'll take your challenge," Michael cut Luke off. The younger boy looked at the older one to see a grin on his face and a challenge in his eyes. "You can do it, Lukey. Her Pokémon are -"

  "-A Level 12 Geodude and a Level 14 Nosepass, I know, but Oshawott -"

  "Is a Level 14 _and_  has a type advantage. You'll win." Michael set his hands on Luke's shoulders and looked into his eyes with confidence that Luke wished he had. Then, he leaned in and kissed Luke's forehead before moving away and looking at Roxanne, who was smiling at them.

  "Call out your refs, Roxanne. He's ready to battle." Michael looked back at Luke has the leader's podium expanded into a battlefield. "I'll be right on the sidelines, okay, princess? You can do this." At that moment, Luke looked into Michael's green eyes and gained all the confidence he needed. 

  "I can do this."

  Michael jumped down, off of the podium and strode off to a spot directly between the two referees and at the side of the field. 

  "Alright, Luke. Are ya ready?" Roxanne called. Luke cleared his throat.

  "I'm ready."

  "Go, Geodude!" Roxanne called, pegging forth a PokéBall. A white light shone before Geodude appeared, on the field and ready to battle.

  Luke looked at his Oshawott, admiring the small blue dot and four white dots before saying, "You've got this, buddy." Oshawott jumped down, onto the field.

  "Geodude, use Rock Throw!"

  "Oshawott, avoid it and use Water Gun!"

  Geodude's health dropped into the red zone, prompting Roxanne to use a potion. It's health then shot back up into the green, but didn't fill up completely, and Luke saw his chance.

  "Oshawott, use Water Gun again!" This time, Oshawott's Water Gun missed, meaning that Geodude's next physical attack would most likely hit Oshawott and knock him out, which would cause Luke to lose both his type and level advantage.

  "Geodude, use Leer!"

  "Oshawott, use Bubble!"

  Oshawott's attack didn't miss this time.

  "Alrigh'," Roxanne commented as she withdrew her fainted Geodude. "I like yer offensive battle style. Really don't suit ya, but ya can't judge a book bah it's cova'." She smiled. "It's all up to ya, Nosepass!"

  This Pokémon, true to it's index, was a Level 14 and equal with Oshawott, but Luke knew how to defeat it.

  "Nosepass, use Harden!"

  "Oshawott, use Water Gun!"

  The Nosepass' health dropped to the yellow area, but just barely, so Luke knew that Roxanne wouldn't dare try and use a potion, but instead attack again.

  "Nosepass, use Rock Tomb!" Roxanne's Nosepass used Rock Tomb and almost made Oshawott faint, but now it was Luke's turn.

  "One more time, Oshawott! Use Water Gun!"

  Nosepass fainted. 

  All was silent for a moment before a referee declared, "Roxanne's Pokémon are unable to battle. That means the challenger, Luke Hemmings, is the winner! Congratulations!"

  Michael cheered and jumped onto the platform. He wrapped his arms around Luke, who was still slightly stunned by his victory.

  "That was amazing, Lukey!" A third voice cheered. Luke and Michael looked down toward the entrance to see Ashton and Calum smiling. They both held the two preliminary badges from the other pre-Gym Leader trainers in the Gym, ready to battle Roxanne. 

  "Tha' was a very nice battle, Luke. I'm glad I was able ta study yer style to expand mah own repertwah'. Here; take this Stone Badge. Ya've earned it." The Gym Leader handed him a small badge shaped like two arrows, with one gold and red arrow on either end. The badge shone in the bright lighting of the Gym, letting everyone know that Luke Hemmings was the most recent recipient. 

  "May I?" Michael asked, holding his hand out for the badge. Luke handed it to him and allowed Michael to delicately pin his first badge to his right leg pack.

  "And here," Roxanne started. "Ya've won against a Gym Leada', so ya'll get $15 from me, but ya also get this TM." She gave Luke a small disk, which was tinted orange and had 'TM 39' engraved on one side. "Tha's tha TM Rock Throw. Boulda's are hurled a' tha target. This also lowa's the target's Speed stat by preventin' it's movement." Lastly, Roxanne smiled. "Ya're an incredible trainer, Mr Hemmings, and I hope we can battle again someday when we're both stronga'."

  "I look forward to it, Leader Roxanne," Luke replied softly, stepping off of the field. He and Michael traipsed over to Calum and Ashton, who both looked excited for their upcoming battles. 

  "Michael! Are ya' goin' ta walk me ta tha PokéCenta' and tell me why ya're here instead'a battlin' Winona?" Roxanne called. Michael smiled sheepishly at Luke and, as soon as Luke smiled and nodded, scurried back to Roxanne, taking her arm and walking her out.

  "That was so cool, Luke!" Ashton admired. 

  "When did you two get here? I thought you were off doing something else."

  "Well I really wanted to visit the Trainer's School but Calum wanted to come here, so we went to the PokéCentre and healed up before getting here. We both battled the pre-Gym Leader trainers and won, so here we are, ready to battle Roxanne!"

  "Ashton just wants to get the badge because it means that he can get to Lavaridge Town faster."

  "Sorry if I want to enter a Pokémon Contest! Is that really so bad?"

  "No, but Luke's Oshawott would probably have you beat."

  "Not in a Tough Contest! By then, I'll have a Skarmory, and Skarmorys are _definitely_  tougher than an Oshawott." 

  "Who's to say Luke won't get a Tough Pokémon by then, huh?"

  "Guys!" Luke quieted the both of them. "I'm going to go to the PokéCentre to heal up Oshawott. You two wait for Roxanne, yeah? Battle against each other or discuss strategies or something, okay?"

  Ashton and Calum were too busy discussing the contests to hear Luke, so he just walked out of the museum Gym.

  "Hey, stop!"

  As soon as Luke stepped outside and onto the main street, he was knocked back by an unknown force. 

  "Get out of my way!" The man yelled at Luke, continuing past the Gym and out of the town's only other Gate: the Eastern one. Luke looked at the man running away, wondering if he should do something when the scientist from earlier jogged up, along with Michael. 

  "Did you see the man run by?" Michael asked, looking over Luke and making sure he wasn't hurt. Luke nodded and looked over in the direction the man ran off, making the scientist groan and run the same way.

  "Princess," Michael grabbed Luke's attention again, taking the younger's hands in his, "I want you to go back to the Gym, tell Ashton and Calum, and then meet us at the Eastern Gate. Okay?"

  "Alright," Luke replied, already turning around. He watched Michael and the scientist make way for the Gate then sped back to the Gym. Calum was in the middle of his match with Roxanne, so Luke nodded to the pre-Gym Leaders, who smiled back at him, and strode straight for Ashton, who watched the battle as if he was going to be quizzed on it afterwards. Ashton glanced over at Luke, smiling, but it fell when he saw the expression on Luke's face. 

  "What's wrong, Luke?" Luke shook his head.

  "Some thief ran past me with some papers and a box from the Devon Corporation, so Michael and the scientist from earlier went after him. I was sent to tell you and Calum." Luke looked up at the battle, where Calum was currently winning. Roxanne was using her Nosepass with its health in the orange, while Calum's Treecko was in the red, but with two more Pokemon to back him up. 

  "Alright," Ashton replied, dragging Luke's attention back. "I'll let Calum know where you guys went. We're still meeting in front of the Pokécentre at 6.45, right?"

  "Yeah, I'm assuming so," Luke agreed. They nodded, and Luke turned and left.

  It wasn't a long walk to the city's Eastern Gate. Luke stopped at the Pokécentre before going on to the Gate, smiling at most of the people he passed, who all smiled back at the lanky blonde with an Oshawott on his shoulder. 

  Michael caught sight of him before he caught sight of Michael. The older rushed over, grasped his hand and dragged him to the Gate, where past, fields of tall grass and trainers lay. The scientist was standing there, watching the fields nervously to see if the thief would reappear. 

  "Thank goodness you're here, Luke," he started. "I can't see him anywhere, but the only thing laying in this direction is the Rusturf Tunnel, which is currently blocked off, so he can't be far." 

  The plains were beckoning to Luke, and the trainers strolling around were looking through the grasses for Pokémon. One of them looked up at Luke, smiled, and continued on his stroll. He was probably only about eleven and _definitely_ shouldn't be in the grass, but a grown man wandered nearby. Probably the boy's father. 

  "Will you go to the Tunnel and get the goods back?" The scientist asked meekly, glancing up through his bangs at Luke and Michael. Luke looked at Michael, who gestured for Luke to go through the Gate to the Tunnel. Luke smiled at the scientist and nodded.

  "Thank you so much! I'll be waiting here for when you get back." 

  Twenty minutes later, Luke and Michael were at the entrance to the Tunnel, having won battles against the other trainers in the area. Michael glanced over to Luke, and noticed he looked a bit anxious about going into the Tunnel. 

  "Are you okay, princess? If you don't want to do this, I can easily get the Goods back myself," Michael offered, stepping closer to the Tunnel entrance. Luke shook his head.

  "I may be younger than you, but I'm definitely tougher. You should wait out here," Luke nearly commanded. Michael looked surprised for a moment, but then smiled and nodded, stepping back. 

  "I'll see you when you come out then, princess," Michael replied. Luke nodded and strode to the Tunnel entrance. He was nearly inside when a small, older man stopped him.

  "Ohhh, what am I to do? We were on our walk, Peeko and I, when we were jumped by an odd thug... The scoundrel made off with my darling Peeko! Peeko!" He cried to Luke, who nodded. He didn't know this man, but if he had to make a guess, then this thug, probably the same one that took the Devon Goods, probably stole this man's 'Peeko'. Luke was even willing to bet that 'Peeko' was a Pokémon, and what kind of sorry fück takes a man's Pokémon?

  Luke entered the Tunnel.

  It was musty and damp, and there was fog. He could see oddly shaped lumps around the cave and decided to try and avoid them unless they were directly in his path. There was a bend in the Tunnel, up ahead and leading to the right, and it was the only way to go, so Luke trudged on ahead. 

  "Wish I'd thought to bring a flashlight," he muttered to himself, glancing down as the Tunnel got darker the farther he got through it. Then, suddenly, lights appeared on the cave walls, lighting up his path more than bright enough, washed in a pale green light, so he could see every detail of the Tunnel.

  Luke smiled and continued walking, a little faster now. It was cold but humid, and his shirt was starting to stick to his body, and he _really_  wanted to get out of the Tunnel, but he had something to prove to Michael, even if he didn't know it himself, and where the _fück_  is that _grunt_  -

  "Hey!" A voice called back to him. Luke glanced up, startled, then peered into the darkness to find the source of the voice. He could make out the blue outline of the grunt who probably stole the Devon Goods, so Luke broke into a jog to get closer. 

   "What, are you coming?" The thug called as Luke approached. Right next to him was a Wingull, tethered to the thug with a creance (which was not only odd because Pokémon are supposed to be free wandering out of a PokéBall, but because a creance isn't used for gulls, but hawks and falcons). 

  "Come and get me, then!" The thug stepped back, so Luke approached and looked at Oshawott, who was resting on his shoulder. 

  "Ready, pal?" Oshawott grinned and jumped down, into its spot on the field. 

  "Grah, keelhaul it all!" The thug was shouting nonsense now, but Luke was going to take him on anyway, because he had stolen things and creatures which didn't belong to him. He was treated the Wingull, Peeko if Luke had a guess, like an object instead of a creature with its own mind and personality. "That Pokémon I took hostage was worthless! And to think I made a getaway... In this tunnel to nowhere! Hey! You! So you want to battle me?"

  Luke was mildly confused, but stood his ground. The thug tossed out his PokéBall and the same Poochyena from the Petalburg Forest appeared in its spot. Luke and Oshawott made eye contact before Luke nodded and Oshawott turned back around. 

  "Oshawott, use Water Gun!" 

  "Poochyena! Tackle!"

  Both attacks hit, and Luke watched as Oshawott got slightly weaker. Poochyena's health, however, went into the yellow, while Oshawott's was still bright green. 

  Luke grinned. He could win this.

  "Oshawott, use Bubble!" 

  "Poochyena, use Howl!" 

  The thug's Poochyena's Howl raised its attack, but that didn't matter because Oshawott's Bubble attack knocked it out. The Poochyena fainted, falling back into the arms of the thug. 

  "Urggh! My career in crime has come to an end!" The thug threw more money at Luke (a solid $220... nice?) and stood, holding the fainted Poochyena in his arms.

  "This is plain not right..." The grunt started, glaring up at Luke. "The boss told me this would be a slick-and-easy job to pull. All I had to do was steal some package from Devon. Tch! You want it that badly? Take it!" He reached into a bag on the ground beside him and threw a small box at Luke, who barely caught it from the force of the throw. Oshawott scampered back to Luke and clung to his leg, watching the thug. The thug then tightened his grip on his Poochyena and ran out of the cave, leaving Luke and the Wingull alone for a moment. 

  Luke undid the creance attached to the Wingull, who began flying in circles around him. He laughed at the antics of the bird, and was still laughing when the old man from outside of the cave approached. 

  "Peeko! Am I glad to see you're safe!" The old man turned to Luke and smiled widely, unshed tears in his eyes. "Peeko owes her life to you! They call me Mr Briney. And, you are?" 

  Luke briefly wondered who 'they' were, but gave his name anyway.

  "Ah, so you're Luke! I sincerely thank you! Now, if there's anything that troubles you, don't hesitate to tell me! You can usually find me in my cottage by the sea near Petalburg Woods. Come, Peeko, we should make our way home." The Peeko cried out and then the two left, leaving Luke on his own in the cave. 

  Stumbling out of the cave into the evening twilight was refreshing. The air felt cool on his skin and he took a deep breath, Oshawott automatically scurried over to Pignite and Michael, who was smiling at Luke. 

  "I'm proud of you, princess. Did you get the Devon Goods?" Luke nodded, grinning and holding up the small box. Michael grasped it and pulled it to him, examining it. It was only small, about the size of a novel and covered in light blue lines which stood out from its black exterior. 

  "We should get this back to the scientist and the Devon Corporation," Michael suggested, handing the box back to Luke. Luke nodded and picked up Oshawott, carrying him on his shoulder once more.

  "You know, once Oshawott evolves into Dewott, you won't be able to carry him like that anymore," Michael said on the way back through the fields. Luke looked at him, surprised, before looking back at the ground in front of him as he stepped through another patch of tall grass.

  "I know," Luke replied. "Even if he stays small, I won't be able to do this for much longer. I'm still enjoying every moment I can with him, and I won't love him any less when he gets larger." He looked over at Oshawott. "However, the choice to evolve is his. If he wants to, then that's fine. It just means he would have to actually stay in his PokéBall, because there's no way a Samurott can walk around in cities or even towns."

  Oshawott's face grew slightly unpleasant, and he cuddled closer to Luke's neck. Luke smiled and put his free hand on Oshawott's head, with the other holding the Goods. Since he was still looking at the ground, he missed the fond look Michael threw him.

  "That's really sweet, Luke," is all Michael said in response. Luke looked at him curiously, but they were near the Gate now and the scientist in the green coat rushed out to meet them. He was looking directly at Luke when he started speaking, as if he knew that it was Luke who went to retrieve the Goods from the cave.

  "Oh! How did it go? The Devon Goods?" Luke handed over the box. "You did! You got them back! You really are a great trainer! I know! As my thanks, I'll give you another Great Ball!" He dug through his small satchel and shoved the Great Ball into Luke's hands, and while Luke was putting the ball into his right pouch, the scientist, who still hadn't introduced himself, turned to Michael.

  "Excuse me, please! Please come with me, both of you!" Luke fastened the pocket and nodded to Michael, Oshawott jumping down to walk with Pignite. Pignite grinned at the smaller Pokémon and grasped its hand, then waiting for the human's instructions. 

  Michael nodded and the small scientist scampered off, back into the city. Luke and Michael followed, making sure that their Pokémon weren't getting lost. It was a small city, and there weren't tons of people around, but it was still easy to get distracted.

  Michael's Pignite, sensing that Michael was looking back, looked up at Michael, who grinned. 

  "In case the two of you get lost," Michael said as the scientist sped up, past some tall buildings and nearly out of sight, "we're probably going to the Devon Headquarters. It's two buildings to the west of the Gym. Got it?" Pignite nodded and tugged on Oshawott's hand, trying to get him to speed up. Oshawott complied.

  The scientist stopped in front of the building and waiting for Pokémon and trainer alike to catch up. When they did, he entered through one of the tall archways and into a lobby, heading directly for the elevator.

  "Welcome back, sir," one of the receptionists said. He smiled brightly at the man and pressed the elevator button.

  "I'm taking these two trainers upstairs to the boss," he said, just as the elevator 'ding'ed. "They're special guests."

  "I'll let Mr Stone know, sir." The receptionist went back to what he was doing before picking up the phone. This was the last thing Luke noticed before the doors of the nice elevator closed. 

  "Thank you so much for getting the Goods back," the scientist thanked again as they sped past floors. Luke smiled and nodded, feeling a bit shy around the scientist. 

  No more words were exchanged before the elevator 'ding'ed again and they were let out onto the top floor of the building. The scientist turned to face both Michael and Luke, who stood fairly close to one another (aka holding hands because Luke was incredibly uncomfortable, but who really needs to know that?) with their Pokémon in between their feet, Pignite carrying Oshawott on his shoulders. 

  "This is the Devon Corporation's top floor," the scientist introduced. "Our President's office is on this floor. Anyway, I can't tell you how much I'm grateful for what you've done. Um..." he faltered, looking at Luke, "By the way, that parcel you got back for us..." He pulled it out of his satchel and held it out to the two. "Could I get you two to deliver that to the Shipyard in Slateport? It would be awful if those robbers tried to take it again. Uh... Hehe, so, uh, could I count on the two of you to do that for me?" Michael nodded and took the parcel, tucking it away in his oversized jacket. 

  The scientist suddenly jolted and said, "Oh, that's right! Could you wait here a second?" He walked away, out of the room, before shortly returning, grinning widely. 

  "Our President would like to have a word with you two. Preferably Luke," he quipped. 

  "Go ahead, princess." Michael pushed Luke forward a little. Luke turned and gave him a mock glare but followed the scientist anyway. He was led through a short hallway into a large room where an intimidating man sat behind a large, empty desk. He wore a dark brown suit with green trim, and his grey hair matched his salt-and-pepper moustache well. 

  He was pretty intimidating.

  "I'm Mr Stone, the President of the Devon Corporation." The man wore a friendly smile while speaking to Luke, who could feel himself starting to relax a little. "I'd just got word about you! You saved our staff not just once, but twice! I have a favour to ask of an amazing person like you." 

  "Yes, sir?"

  "I understand that you're delivering a package to Slateport's Shipyard. Well, on the way, could you stop off in Dewford Town? I was hoping that you'd deliver a letter to Steven in Dewford." He slid a small, thin envelope across the desk to Luke, who picked it up, inspected it, and set it back on the desk in front of himself. He stepped slightly away from the desk, swung his sturdy guitar case around and set it on the floor, opening it and depositing the letter safely in a small, lined pocket on the inside of the case. Luke then shut the case and put it back on, looking back at Mr Stone who seemed to want to continue speaking.

  "Now, you should know that I am a great President. So, I'd never be so cheap as to ask a favour for nothing in return." Luke had no idea where this was going. "That's why I want you to have this!" He handed Luke a small oval-like yellow device, with a blue button in the very centre and orange striped markings on the bottom right and left. There was a grey square at the top and a line going through the blue button. Luke pressed the blue button and was surprised to see the top half of the device, above the blue button, swing open and up, flipping over to reveal a screen which lit up blue with the word 'PokéNav' in red. 

    "That device..." Mr Stone started. "It's a Pokémon Navigator, or PokéNav for short. It's an indispensable tool for any Pokémon trainer. It has a map of the Hoenn region." Luke looked up in surprise and only just then realised that he didn't have a map of the region and had completely relied on Michael's past knowledge and Calum's paper map, which was a bit outdated. "You can check the locations of Dewford and Slateport easily!" 

  Mr Stone then stood, finally finished. "Thank you for helping our company. Please ensure you deliver those items safely to their owners." Luke nodded, smiled, shook his hand, shook the scientist's hand (what was his damn name?), and left the room silently, striding back to where Michael was waiting with the two Pokémon. Michael was whispering quietly to the Pokémon and stopped as soon as he heard Luke's footsteps approaching. The redhead quickly stood and scooped up Oshawott, handing him over to Luke.

  "How did it go?" He asked quietly, grabbing Luke's hand and leading him over to the elevator. Michael pressed the button and looked at Luke, who was still looking at the PokéNav.

  "Is that a PokéNav?" 

  "Yeah, the President of Devon gave it to me."

  "Why?"

  Luke looked at Michael as the doors to the elevator slid open. He tugged Michael in and pressed the button for the bottom floor. 

  "Mr Stone, the President, asked me to make sure we dropped into Dewford and delivered a letter to a man named Steven."

  "The same Steven as the Champion?" Michael asked, playing with Luke's fingers. Pignite sat on the floor of the elevator, looking out the glass windows at the darkening city with Oshawott, who had, at some point, jumped out of Luke's arms to sit with Pignite.

  Luke shrugged. "Just some man named Steven. I'm sure we'll find out who when we get there." 

  Michael nodded and the elevator 'ding'ed again. They stepped out with their Pokémon, quickly leaving (Luke smiled at the receptionists on the way out, because one can never be too nice) and heading to the Pokécentre. 

  It was just past 6.45 when they arrived, seeing Calum and Ashton waiting and chatting. Ashton was the first to notice them, waving. Calum turned and grinned at the two, looking pointedly at their hands but not saying anything (they had re-clasped hands, okay? Get over it). 

  "My friend lives just behind the Trainer's School," he pointed at the building across the road, and then a smaller house behind it. "He's allowing us to stay for the night and let our Pokémon wander around."

  "Then let's go!" Calum cheered, hopping over to Luke, linking his arm with the blonde's and tugging him across the empty street. Michael and Ashton started talking behind them, so Calum leaned over to Luke to whisper.

  "I can tell that Michael wants to fück you," Calum whispered, "but definitely in a hold-my-hand-and-make-love-to-me kind of way." 

  Red spread across Luke's face like wildfire and he looked away from Calum, over to the fountain just in front of them. "He does not want to fück me."

  "He definitely does." 

  "Calum, Luke, turn left! His house is the only one there, so just open the gate and go up to the door," Michael called from a bit behind them before going back to his conversation with Ashton. Luke nodded and sped up, getting away from Calum's mocking laughter.

  He knocked quickly on the door, glaring back at Calum who was just trotting up with path with Michael and Ashton. The grey door opened, showing an older gentleman, probably in his late twenties, standing at the door in a sweater and jeans.

  "Hey! You must be Luke," he greeted, shaking Luke's hand. "I'm Alex, a friend of Michael's." He looked up at the rest of them. "It's just the four of you and your Pokémon, right?" 

  "Yeah. Hey, man." Michael approached and shook Alex's hand. 

  "Well come in, come in!" The four of them were ushered inside, where another man with dark hair and a few Pokémon dancing around him were. He was strumming a guitar and singing, and the Pikachu and Makuhita seemed to be greatly enjoying the man's singing.

  "Is Jack crashing here again?" Michael asked as the other boys filed in and took off their shoes by the door. He and Luke shrugged off their guitars and propped them against the wall by the door. The fire was on in the fireplace and lights were on in the kitchen with the smell of potatoes fluttering through the air, meaning that dinner was cooking and probably ready soon.

  "Didn't I tell you?" Alex grinned, glancing over at 'Jack', who was focused on dancing with the small Pokémon. "He and I are roommates. He officially lives here, rather than in Fallabor Town."

  "Really?" Michael sounded excited, falling into a conversation with Alex. Luke felt a tug on his leg and looked down to see his tiny Oshawott looking at the other Pokémon dancing around Jack. Jack was looking up and smiling at the four boys.

  "You know," Luke jumped. Jack's voice was higher than he thought it would be, and it was fairly loud, too. "You can relax here. Take a seat and let your Pokémon out." Jack set the guitar down and gestured to the couch before turning the stereo on softly. Luke recognised The Killers playing. 

  "Do you want drinks?" Jack asked, making his way to the kitchen. 

  "Oh shit, yeah. Drinks?" Alex offered, finally finishing his conversation with Michael, who strode over and plopped down next to Luke, slinging his arm around the back of the couch. Luke leaned into his arm subconsciously, feeling Calum's eyes on him as he did so.

  "A coke?"

  "Just some water is fine, thank you."

  "I'll have a coke too, thanks." 

  "I'll take water too, actually. Thanks man."

  Jack and Alex both went into the kitchen while the four on the couches set about releasing all of their Pokémon. One by one, Pokémon of various shapes and sizes filled the room, and suddenly there were Pokémon all over the place. It was nearly too small of a room.

  "Oh shit. Hey Alex, there are more Pokémon than we thought!" Jack called, walking into the room with four glasses and stopping. 

  "Just take them to the larger room outside, with the glass and shit! Make sure you pull the curtains closed, though!" Alex called back, striding to the back door and opening it. Jack grinned and gestured for everyone to follow him through. 

  Pokémon filed through the door and out into the large glass room, completely illuminated by soft white lights in the flooring and fairy lights strewn around. Jack set the tray of drinks for the humans down on a table in the centre of the room and pulled the black curtains closed, shutting out the nighttime world.

  "If you prefer to sleep with your Pokémon," Jack started, moving to the right side of the room. "We have spare mattresses inside that you can sleep on. We only have two, though, so you'll have to pair up, unless someone wants to sleep on the couch inside."

  "We can all sleep out here," Calum replied, grinning at Luke who shoved his face into his hands. Jack grinned and went back through the large door before returning, shoving one mattress along. He made sure to pick it up as soon as his feet hit grass so as not to stain it, and dropped it near the house. Calum and Ashton dropped their bags on the mattress and set to playing with the Pokémon they let out. 

  

  It was a few hours later when people and Pokémon alike began settling down. The Pokémon all gathered in a large cuddle pile on a pile on pillows sunken into the ground, while the humans grabbed blankets and pillows from inside and tossed them on the beds, yawning. Jack and Alex bid the four goodnight and went inside, closing the door softly and making sure to show them where facilities are, should they need them. 

  Luke looked over at the Cashton mattress which was already full of sleeping occupants, then over to his own to share with Michael. Michael was laying back against the glass of the wall, reading a book by the lights above his head, so Luke took off his jeans and shirt, tossing on a large sweater to sleep in before saying goodnight to his Pokémon. He slid onto the mattress, under the covers and lay down, looking up at Michael. Michael shut the book and looked down at Luke before setting the book beside his head, on the ground, and allowing himself to sink down into the mattress. 

  Michael threw an arm over Luke, who stiffened and made a surprised noise. It caused Michael to jerk his arm back, as if burned.

  "Do you want me to not do that?" Michael asked softly, as so not to wake the others. Luke shook his head and scooted closer to Michael. Even though he was taller, he curled up slightly and fit just perfectly into Michael's chest, tossing his arm around the smiling older boy. 

  "Jus' startled me, 's all," he was slurring his words, a sure sign of sleepiness. He heard a low chuckle and lips pressing against his forehead before his eyes shut and he was lost in dreams. 

 

  They hadn't realised the night before that there weren't any curtains on the ceiling, just glass, so they woke up bright and early with the sun in their faces. Luke was still curled into Michael, but their legs were pressed together and Luke's sweater had ridden up some to reveal his underwear. He slowly shifted to push it back down, which caused Michael to wake up and look down at his, softly smiling. His hair was messed up and his eyes still soft from sleep, and he was looking at Luke like he hung the stars in the sky, and Luke _really_  couldn't deal with this so early in the morning. 

  "Morning, Luke!" Calum cheered, flopping on top of Luke. Luke groaned at the sudden weight and pushed him off, turning back to Michael and burrowing himself a little further under the blankets. 

  "Princess, you have to get up. We need to head to Dewford today, and Alex and Jack are only going to keep their doors open to us for so long." Michael batted at Luke slightly, pushing him gently to rouse him. Luke sat up and rubbed his eyes before blinking blearily at Michael. 

  "What time 's it?" He asked, looking around for his pants. His jacket was near his two little pouches as well as his sneakers, so he pulled everything together. His sweater hung down past his boxers, so at least the briefs were covered, but he would have to take a shower soon so he could get dressed again.

  "Just past eight, baby. Alex and Jack made breakfast inside, so go wash up." Michael's voice rang out from behind him along with Calum's snickers. He turned and glared at Calum, who was leaning against Ashton. 

 

  "Thank you so much for allowing us to stay here," Luke thanked as they were leaving. It was just past nine thirty and they had directions to Mr Briney's house to get the boat to Dewford written out on a piece of paper, tucked into Ashton's pocket. Jack nodded at him, smiling, and Alex shook his head. 

  "Any time you're back in Rustboro, call us and feel free to drop by! We put our numbers on the back to the directions, so don't be shy, okay?" Alex grinned and shooed Luke off of his porch. "Now get going! You're wasting daylight, and the trip to Dewford takes a couple of hours, at least!"

  "Plus, I'm not sure Mr Briney is staying at his house all day today, so you'd better go," Jack added from behind Alex. Luke grinned again and hopped off the porch, jogging up behind Michael, who was holding Oshawott. 

  "I'll see you sorry fücks next time I'm nearby," Michael called as they left. Jack and Alex's laughter echoed behind them as they stepped onto the main street. 

 

  "I really hate those Woods," Calum groaned as they left the Petalburg Woods. "They're just incredibly dark and weird, and there are a ton of bug maniacs around."

  "Quit your whining and help us look for Mr Briney's house," Ashton said, opening the directions Alex gave him. "His house is supposed to be on the beach somewhere."

  "It's probably that one house right there, below the ledge and looking onto the ocean," Luke replied, pointing at the sole house in the area. Michael and Ashton looked at each other before going ahead, striding down the path to the house. Calum winked at Luke and tugged his arm, pulling him and his Oshawott so they could catch up. 

  Michael knocked on the door and beckoned for the rest of them to wait outside, entering. He returned a moment later with the old man from the cave and his Wingull, Peeko. The man and Pokémon trotted over to the boat hooked up to a small dock just outside of the house, and Michael grabbed Luke's hand and began walking to the boat.

  "Mr Briney said he'll take us to Dewford, and Slateport too, if we need it," Michael reported. They heard a "Peeko, we're setting sail, my darling!" from the boat and scurried to climb on. Mr Briney sat at the motor of the small boat, smiling at them, with Peeko somewhere flying up above. 

  "I depend on Peeko to show me the right way through the waters," he said as the boys all settled down, "so we'll have no trouble navigating. Anchors aweigh, Peeko!" 


	4. dewford town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took so long sorry

  "Of all the places I've visited in the Hoenn region," Michael started, "Dewford is definitely my favourite. The air is so clean and the people are incredibly friendly. The scenery is stunning and there's  _so_  much history."

  Luke smiled at him and looked back out to the sea. "The water is so blue, and I think I can see the mainland from here."

  Michael put his arm around Luke's shoulders, holding Oshawott up at the same time, and looked over at Calum and Ashton. Their heads were together, speaking in low voices.

  Calum then looked over at Michael and Luke, smiling.

  "Let's go deliver the letter, hm?" Ashton called. Michael nodded, releasing Luke.

  "Mr Briney?" Luke strode over to the boat, here the captain was playing around with Peeko. The old man peered over the edge of the boat, down onto the dock where Luke was standing.

  "What do you need? Do you want to go back to Petalburg?"

  "No, sir. We want to know where we might be able to find Steven."

  "I'm not really sure. Check out the cave on the island, up north. I know Steven likes history, so he might be there." 

  Luke thanked the old captain and went back over to the others.

  "He said to check out the cave," Luke relayed, pulling Oshawott off of his shoulder and putting him on the ground, where the Pokémon began toddling around the trainers' legs. He was a level thirteen now, but he was still smaller than he should be.

  "Let's stop at the Pokécentre first before going. I think all of our Pokémon could use some rest." Ashton nodded and tugged Luke's hand to lead him to the building with the orange roof.

  Forty-five minutes later found them at the opening of the cave. Michael had managed to haggle with the owners of the Pokémart to get the HM01 Cut and an Old Rod for each of his three friends for only $2000 (Luke may or may not have hugged Michael, but nobody needs to comment).

  "The cave is beautiful but dark," Michael said, pulling out a PokéBall. "That's why I retrieved my Ludicolo from the PC while we were at the Pokécentre, because I know none of you have the HM05 Flash."

  Ashton grinned at Michael, throwing his arm around him. Luke ignored the stab in his gut. "Thanks, man. We really owe you one." 

  The redhead grinned and summoned his Ludicolo, who sat on the ground in front of them after being bathed in an aqua-coloured light. She looked up at Michael and grinned, recognising her trainer. 

  "Ludicolo, we're going into this cave and as soon as it gets dark, we need you to use Flash. We need to find Steven," Michael relayed. 

  Ludicolo cooed and entered the cave, followed by the boys. 

  The first thing they encountered was a very large man hefting a huge backpack on his shoulders. He glanced at the faces of the trainers and then focused on Luke, as if he knew that Luke was the youngest there.

  "The cave gets much darker up ahead, and the other people who have passed through here have also needed this." He handed Luke a small scroll. "Keep it. It's the HM05 Flash, which can be used to light up the cave. However, you can't use it unless you have a badge from the Gym Leader on the island, Brawly, so you should go battle him."

  "It's okay, sir." Luke smiled and gestured to Michael. "My friend here has a Pokémon who has learned HM05 already and can use it, because he has 5 Gym Badges." 

  The large hiker seemed to notice Michael for the first time, looking him up and down and then at his Pignite. His eyes seemed to widen in recognition.

  "Are you the Five Badge Flame?" 

  Michael nodded slowly, unsure of whether he should be truthful or not. The hiker suddenly stepped back and bowed.

  "It's an honour to meet you, sir!"

  "Please don't bow to me," Michael pleaded. "I'm just a trainer with some badges, really." 

  "You're the youngest ever to get five badges!"

  "I just worked hard to get my badges, seriously. Anyone can do what I did, and there are people who  _have_  done what I did."

  "You're still an inspiration, sir -"

  "Sorry to break up this love fest," Calum interrupted, "but we really need to deliver this letter to Steven."

  The hiker bristled, but withered under one look from Michael. "Sorry to hold you up. I really do suggest you go and get the badge from Brawly first."

  "Alright, then we'll go to the Gym and challenge Brawly," Luke compromised, putting his hand on Michael's arm. The older boy calmed down at Luke's touch and looked at him.

  "Alright, fine. We'll go to Brawly." 

  The trek back across the island was tense. Michael was still a little shaken at the confrontation with the hiker who apparently _worshipped_ him or something, while the other three were still incredibly calm. 

  "From what I remember reading," Calum suddenly spoke, drawing the attention of the other three boys, "Brawly is a Fighting-type Gym Leader. That means our best bet are Psychic, Flying or Fairy attacks. His Pokémon will be best against Dark, Ice, Normal, Rock, and...?" Calum trailed off, trying to think of the last type.

  "Steel," Michael supplied. "The one you're looking for is Steel."

  Calum grinned widely at Michael, nodding. "Yeah, that was it!"

  "And I can tell you something from experience," Michael began as they neared the Gym. "Inside is a maze of dark passages and trainers at dead ends. If you're careful, you'll only have to fight one pre-Leader. I can't go through with any of you, because that would be cheating -"

  "Like you leading me through the Rustboro Gym wasn't cheating," Luke interjected, raising his eyebrow at Michael. It may have been slightly intimidating to Michael if the tiny Oshawott on his shoulder hadn't done the same thing. Luke and Oshawott looked like twins, peas from the same pod, and it nearly made Michael burst into laughter at the sight. He managed to hold his tongue.

  "Sure, it was, but I needed to talk to Roxanne. I have no business with Brawly, and he has no business with me. Therefore, I'll be waiting outside, but I'll still tell you the way through, if you just shush for a moment."

  Luke's incredulous look faded into one of embarrassment and he stood down, backing up a little so he was even with Calum. Ashton smiled at him and then looked at Michael with a questioning look.

  "When you enter, you may decide to talk to Clyde, or not. Either way, once you pass him, go to the end of the corridor, then turn right. Go all the way to the end of the hall. That's where, if you're careful, the only pre-Leader will challenge you, coming from the right. You'll then go left to the end, then left again. When you reach the big hallway, turn right to the end. Turn right, then follow the path and you'll be in front of Brawly in no time."

  "That's quite a maze to remember," Ashton remarked uncertainly, gazing at the grey walls of the Gym.

  "Don't worry, Ashy," Calum threw his arm around Ashton's shoulders and grinned, "I'll remember it! And even if I don't, I'm sure Luke knows the layout of this Gym like the back of this hand." Calum looked at Luke expectantly, who sheepishly grinned back.

  "I... Yeah, my dad made me memorise the layout of each Gym and the stats of each Leader. Said it would help me someday. I guess he was right," Luke replied.

  "I wish Norman had told me before I came here. Took me ages to get through the Gym, and I think I battled every single pre-Leader in there," Michael joked. He glanced at the Gym before nodding. "Oh! While you guys go through the Gym, do you want me to deliver the package to Steven? I know Mr Stone said that he wanted you to do it, Luke, but we were together, and I think it would be fine if I did it. Bet it's to _that_ Steven anyway."

  " _That_ Steven...?" Luke questioned softly, thinking to himself, before remembering their short time in Oldale Town. "Oh, _that_ Steven! Sure, Michael, you can deliver the package if you really want to. You didn't seem to like Steven very much when we saw him in Oldale Town, though."

  "On the contrary," Michael replied, "Steven and I are actually good friends. He was actually the first trainer I battled after leaving Littleroot Town the first time, when he was just passing through Route 101 while helping Dad out with some research."

  "Really?" Calum asked incredulously.

  Michael pouted. "What, you don't believe me?"

  "I'm not going to lie. Not really."

  "FIne, then." Michael's head was held high in mock offense and Luke wanted to laugh. Oshawott clung to his hair softly. "I'll deliver the package and when you meet Steven, you can ask him yourself."

  Calum laughed and hauled Ashton into the Gym, leaving Luke and Michael outside. Michael was still pouting in fake offense, but his features softened at the sight of Luke.

  "Good luck, princess. Remember that Oshawott's Water moves are the best ones you can use against Brawly," Michael said gently. Luke nodded and took a deep breath, closing his eyes and inhaling the scent of the ocean. It was close enough to sparkle onto the side of the Gym, blue spreading for miles, with faint islands in the distance. His eyes shot open, however, at the feeling of something soft on his forehead.

  It was Michael.

  Kissing his forehead.

  Michael leaned away, eyes closed and breath held, before releasing a sigh and opening his eyes. He looked down at Luke only to see a nervous expression, and became flustered.

  "U-Uh, s-so, good luck!" Then he jogged away, back to the direction of the cave.

  Luke giggled.

  "Luke?" Ashton called from the Gym. "We're going through now, are you coming?"

  "Yeah," Luke replied, cheeks pink, grin wide and eyes reflecting the sea. "Yeah, I'm coming."

 

  "So which way did Michael say to go?" Calum whispered. Clyde had greeted them ( _"_ _Hey, okay, go for it!"_ _)_ and granted them a small electric lamp, which was digitally connected to access points around the Gym. When they reached a certain point, the light grew brighter so they could see their way around. Luke thought the idea was ingenious, while Calum just didn't like walking around in the dark so much. Ashton laughed at the brown boy and walked ahead, leaving the other two to catch up.

  "There's a trainer at the end of the hall on the right. Ash, do you want to go first?"

  "Why?" Ashton replied, looking back at Calum's smug grin. "So that you can show me up with your Treecko? Not going to happen, buddy; if we're in this Gym, then it's a Fighting-type trainer, which means that my Mudkip will have an advantage over your Treecko."

  Calum pouted. "I'll show you up in another Gym, a Water-type Gym!"

  Luke piped up with a, "Sootopolis Gym is a Water-type Gym." Calum cheered and Ashton reached the end of the hall and looked right. There, a trainer was hiding in the shadows, only visible to them by the blue sneakers they wore.

  "Don't you dare brush me off!" She glared Ashton, continuing, "It's not my fault if you cry! Let's have a battle!"

  Ashton grinned and nodded, leaving Luke and Calum to step back.

  Luke wasn't really paying attention to the battle, instead looking around at the dark grey walls of the Gym and mentally mapping the place. It was only after Calum's turn battling that Luke looked back, seeing the pre-Leader place her only PokéBall on a thin, waist-level pillar. A bronze light overtook the PokéBall for a few seconds before fading gently. The trainer removed her PokéBall and grinned at Luke.

  "I just lost twice to your friends. I won't lose a third!" She cheered for herself and sent out her Pokémon, a Meditite, Level 14. Luke thought it was an odd choice of Pokémon for a Fighting-type Gym, but who was he to question? He only knew the Pokémon of the Gym Leaders, and he supposed that's all he really needed to know.

  "Alright, Oshawott,  I'm letting Taillow take this one. Go, Taillow!" Luke tossed up a PokéBall with a lavender button, where it opened seconds before hitting the ground. The area was blanketed in a sharp light purple light before Taillow was standing in front of Luke, ready to battle.

  "Taillow, use Peck!" Luke called.

  "Meditite, use Confusion!"

  A soft pink light covered the two Pokémon and Taillow emerged, injured. Meditite glanced back at its trainer, who nodded.

  Taillow quickly shuffled forward on quick talons and pecked the Meditite's bulb-like head. The Meditite scowled at the type disadvantage, but when it saw Taillow's yellow right wing and the way it panted, it grinned.

  "Taillow," Luke continued with Taillow, putting faith in his small bird and pleading for it not to faint. "Use Peck again!"

  "Meditite, use Detect!" The opposing trainer called, her Pokémon quickly obeying and protecting itself. Taillow's attack did not go through.

  "Continue, Taillow! Peck!"

  "Meditite, Bide!" The Meditite glowed a soft red for a few seconds, sweat beginning to bead on its forehead. Luke knew he had to wrap up this battle within two turns, at least with Taillow, otherwise the Meditite's energy would be unleashed and Taillow will faint.

  "Taillow, you know what to do!" Is there a setting for Luke to choose where his Pokémon just use the best offensive moves? He never thought he would be an offensive trainer, learning that stats and stat changes are really what decide a battle, but he supposed theory was vastly different from battle. Perhaps there would come a time where he decided to use Special or Status moves to turn the tide of the battle, but that was not now.

  "Meditite, Bide!" The Meditite continued to store energy, while Taillow's attack landed a critical hit.

  The Meditite fainted, and Luke had won with Taillow. Just.

  "Waaaahhh! I lost!" The pre-Leader cried, recalling her Pokémon and handing Luke $336. "This is all I have."

  "Thank you for the battle," Luke replied, taking the money, tucking it away and recalling Taillow. He attached the nozzle of the Potion bottle to a spot on the back of the PokéBall and healed his Taillow, the lavender button of the PokéBall changing from a sickly yellow-tinted-purple to its original colour.

  With Luke's victory, Ashton took a step down the left hallway, the digitally lit lamp became brighter. Ashton grinned and began down the hallway, with Calum following. Luke followed for a few steps before turning back to the pre-Leader in the darkness. She was sitting on the ground now, practicing with her Meditite. At the sudden end of the footsteps, she glanced up at Luke and smiled.

  "I battle in the dark to make my heart stronger," she said. "You should do the same. It'll help you win battles and beat the Elite Four." With that, she went back to playing with her Meditite, leaving Luke to follow the others.

  "Which way did Michael say to go?" Ashton asked Calum, already at the end of the corridor. He looked both left and right, seeing both passages fading into darkness after a few feet.

  "Go left here, then right at the main corridor, then right at the end of that corridor," Luke relayed, stepping ahead of Ashton. "That's the easiest way to get through this Gym."

  "Thanks, Lukey," Calum grinned at the younger and threw his arm around Ashton's shoulders. "C'mon Ash, maybe we can have a battle when we leave."

  "Sounds good, Cal," Ashton replied.

  The boys quickly made their way through the dark Gym, their torch steadily growing in luminosity until they were standing in front of Brawly with a bright lamp. The space was small, with boxes in the corners and Brawly himself sitting on a long rectangular container across from the entrance.

  He grinned at the three boys. "Hello! I'm Brawly, Dewford's Gym Leader! I've been churned in the rough waves of these parts, and I've grown tough in the pitch-black cave! So you want to challenge me? Let's see what you're made of! Who's first?" He looked around at the boys, his eyes landing on Luke's Oshawott. "Oh? You have a Pokémon not from this region - I'll battle you first."

  Luke's eyes widened and he looked at Calum and Ashton. They both nodded and stepped over to the boxes on either side of Brawly, sitting to watch the match.

  Brawly grinned. "Let's go!" He tossed up a PokéBall with a red button before a soft red glow filled the area and a Level 17 Machop was standing between Luke and Brawly. It huffed and pounded its fists together.

  Luke grinned and Oshawott jumped to the ground, taking up stance in front of Machop.

  "Oshawott, use Bubble!"

  "Machop, use Low Kick."

  Oshawott moved faster, flinging a stream of bubbles at the Machop. When its HP was done lowering (and its right arm flowed in a steady gold), it attacked Oshawott with a Low Kick, leaving Oshawott similarly on low health.

  "Oshawott, Water Gun!"

  "Machop, use Karate Chop!"

  Oshawott managed to knock out the Machop before it could do any damage, leaving Oshawott the victor of the first round.

  "You're pretty good," Brawly said, putting Machop's PokéBall away (complete with a grey button to signify that it fainted). "But let's see how you do against... Makuhita!"

  Again, a soft red glow illuminated the room before a burly Pokémon, Makuhita, was standing where Machop just had. It was much larger, rounder, with gold and orange colouring and a glower on its face.

  Oshawott glowed softly for a moment before it faded, concentrated on his right fin. There was now a light blue dot, a dark blue dot, and two white dots, all pulsing.

  Oshawott was about to evolve.

  "Oshawott," Luke smiled at the Pokémon when it looked back at him, "Use Water Gun."

  "Makuhita, Bulk Up!" Oshawott's Water Gun also left Makuhita on less than half of its HP, while the Bulk Up simply caused the Makuhita's Attack and Defense stats to raise.

  Luke already knew that this battle had been decided.

  "Again, Oshawott!"

  "Makuhita, use Arm Thrust!"

  Luke had trained his Oshawott well in the short time they had together, because with that one move and a higher speed, the slow Makuhita was knocked out and Luke had won the Gym.

  Brawly recalled his Makuhita, all smiles. "You've made a much bigger splash than I expected! You swamped me! Take this Gym badge, along with the customary cut for winning the Gym." He passed Luke $1800, similarly to Roxanne.

  Brawly then dug in the long box he was sitting on, found what he was looking for, and passed one thing to Luke. It was the tiny Knuckle Badge, shaped like a blue boxing glove with a gold circular gem where the thumb would be.

  "This badge makes all Pokémon up to Level 30, even those you got in trades, obey. And, you'll be able to use the HM move Flash outside of battle. If you'd like, here's a Technical Machine, too. You probably got on from Roxanne, huh?"

  "Yes sir," Luke replied, taking the small CD case and putting it with the others.

  "That contains Bulk Up, the move that Makuhita used. It raises both Attack and Defense stats. Now," Brawly looked at the other two boys on either side and grinned, finally settling on Calum.

  "Luke, if you want to go find Michael, we'll finish up here," Ashton said, watching Brawly and Calum get into their positions.

  Luke smiled at Ashton and beckoned to Oshawott. The small Pokémon began glowing in a white light, radiating from its body as the form changed. All four humans looked on at the Pokémon's change before the light became too bright. Luke covered his eyes, and when he opened them, he came face-to-face with a small Dewott.

  The Dewott crooned at Luke before awkwardly clambering up Luke's leg, like it wasn't used to  its new longer limbs. Luke grasped the Pokémon, turned, and left the same way thay came.

  The Gym was still dark, but the pre-Leaders came out of their nooks to help Luke out. One asked where his torch was, to which he replied that his friends had it and were with Brawly. The pre-Leader smiled then and directed Luke over to where the first girl, Laura, he called her, was. She then helped him out of the Gym.

  He sucked in a breath of cool ocean air and set his Dewott on the ground. Looking around, he noticed a few houses, the Pokécentre and a few people milling about, chatting or playing with Pokémon.

  "Well," Luke said to his small Dewott, on the ground beside him. Dewott looked up at its trainer and yelped happily. "We better go to the Pokécentre and then try and find Michael, huh? The other one, I mean."

  Dewott chirped and started making its way to the Pokécentre, albeit sluggishly. Luke scooped the injured Pokémon up and strode over to the Pokécentre. They popped through the doors, had Dewott healed and were back outside before they knew it, walking northwest to the cave on the island. Dewott was lowered back to the ground and was walking beside Luke when they approached the mouth of the cave.

  "Ready, buddy?" Luke asked rhetorically, looking down at his Pokémon. Dewott crooned again and bounded ahead of Luke, into the cave and out of sight.

  "Hey!" Luke laughed and entered the cave.

 

  The same hiker was still standing near the entrance. He jolted when he saw Luke enter after Dewott, who was currently looking around, but then he smiled at the young trainer and made his way over.

  "Hey, you! It gets awfully dark ahead. It'll be tough trying to explore. Steven and the Five Badge Flame, they knew how to use Flash, so they ought to be alright, but... Well, for us hikers, helping out those that we meet is our motto. I want to apologise for the way I was acting earlier, and compensate. Here, I'll pass this on to you." He handed Luke a small grey disk with 'HM05' engraved on it. "That's Flash. It lights up even the inky darkness of caves, so you can find your friend again."

  "Thank you," Luke said to the hiker, stepping around him and continuing on through the cave. He figured on the way out, he could give the man a berry or something to thank him more sincerely for his help.

  Luke made his way to the left, following the narrow passage and having Dewott pick up an Escape Rope they spotted just before the exit. The ladder went down into darkness.

  "Right. How are we going to do this, Dewott?" Luke asked his Pokémon, staring at the ladder. Dewott nudged at Luke, gaining his attention, before attempting to crawl its way up. Luke laughed and picked up Pokémon, holding it almost like a baby on his hip.

  "Only for the ladders, okay?" He told Dewott, earning a delighted nod in return. It couldn't stay on his shoulders anymore, but he could at least carry it for a minute or two.

  Dewott was fucking heavy.

  When they were on the next floor down, Luke immediately released the Pokémon, panting.

  "You're so fucking heavy!"

  Dewott only grinned.

  Fucking spoiled Pokémon.

  "Let's just get through here, get Michael, and get out," Luke muttered. "I hate caves so much." He took a few tentative steps forward into the darkness, Dewott closely behind.

 

  "Caves?" Luke began to Dewott as they stood in front of the entrance to the last room, where the hiker had indicated Steven was. "They're the fucking worst. I hate them so goddamn much. Why are there so many Zubat around?" Dewott crooned while Luke entered the last room.

  His eyes immediately found Michael, who had his back to him. Steven was opposite him, smirking.

  "Look, your father wanted us to deliver this to you."

  "And you were successful, I see. Thank you very much." Steven's eye caught Luke, who stood near the door looking like a deer in headlights. "Both of you."

  Michael whirled around and looked straight at Luke, seemingly frenzied. "Luke, go -"

  "That device you have there..." Steven began, looking at the PokéNav that was _apparently_ peeking out of Luke's left pouch? Or something?

  _How had Steven known he had a PokéNav?_

 _Ah. Michael must've told him_.

  "It's a PokéNav. When trainers that have PokéNavs battle, it keeps a record of how things went, I think. Oh, pardon me." Steven smiled thinly at Luke, stepping away from Michael. "I believe we've met before. My name is Steven, if you don't remember. I'm interested in rare stones, so I travel here and there. I want to thank you, Michael, for the letter. You went through all of this trouble to deliver it, travelling from the mainland. Let me see... I'll give you this TM. Michael, of course, already has it, but a new trainer wouldn't. It's my favourite move, Steel Wing." Steven handed Luke the lavender disk with 'TM47'.

  Steven continued speaking, not quite pausing for breath but at the same time taking all the time in the world. "Your Pokémon appear quite capable. If you keep training, you could even become the Champion of the Pokémon League one day. Of course, Michael is already three steps ahead of you, aren't you, Michael?"

  Michael grimaced in response.

  Luke wanted to get out of here.

  "Now, I've got to hurry along." With that, Steven swept past Luke, giving him another thin smile and a greasy wink, before exiting.

  Instantly, Michael came at Luke, touching his arms, shoulders, face, making sure he was okay. Luke grabbed Michael's arms, stopping him, and when the red-haired boy finally looked at him, he smiled. Dewott crooned.

  "Now," Luke began before Michael could. "Let's get out of this musty cave, shall we?"

 

  Michael nearly moaned when they were outside. "Fuck, it was _so_ clammy in there. Felt like forever that I was talking to Steven."

  Luke grinned. Did he ever not?

  "Well, now we're out, so we can grab Ashton and Calum, then go." Michael grabbed Luke's hand and began walking, not letting go.

  (Luke did _not_ blush, thank you very much.)

  "Luke! Michael!" A voice was calling when they reached the town again. Calum was waving at them from in front of the Pokécentre. Quickly, they shuffled over, not releasing grips. Calum waggled his eyebrows at Luke before addressing Michael.

  "Ashton is inside getting his Pokémon healed. He'll be out in just a moment." They were waiting for only a moment before Ashton stepped out of the door, adjusting the straps of his backpack. He brightened when he saw Michael and Luke with Calum.

  "Hey! How did the letter delivery go?" He seemed a little hesitant to ask, and Luke really wasn't sure why.

  Michael's teeth were audibly grit when he forced out a "Fine." Ashton and Calum looked at each other, clearly confused, then Calum looked to Luke questioningly. Luke just looked away, tightening his grip on Michael's hand and sliding a tiny bit closer.

  _Not for protection_ , he thought to himself. _Just because I can_.

  "Well," Ashton broke the silence, clapping his hands. "Let's go on to Slateport, yeah? We still have to deliver that package to... Who?"

  "Captain Stern," Calum answered.

  Luke began tugging Michael in the direction of Mr Briney's boat.

  "Is there anything else we have to do in Dewford?" Calum asked the general air, receiving three refusals as they stepped on the dock and stopped in front of the old man.

  "Ahoy!" He greeted. "For you four, I'll go out to sea anytime! Now, friends, where are we bound?"

  "Slateport," Luke answered, his Dewott stepping out from behind his leg in curiosity. Peeko dove down at the Pokémon, playing, and Dewott gladly responded, batting at the bird whenever it came near.

  "Slateport, is it? Anchors aweigh! Peeko, we're setting sail, my darling!" They climbed into the boat.

  It left port, sailing to the east and out of sight of the lovely little island of Dewford. 


End file.
